Unless otherwise stated, all images, content and recipes are original and are the sole property of Mary Foreman, DeepSouthDish.com. No photographs or other content may be used without prior written consent.

Privacy Disclosure

Any personal information you provide (e.g., name, email address, etc) will never be released to any entities outside Deep South Dish. As with most websites and blogs across the Internet, third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to websites.

Affiliate Disclaimer

Deep South Dish is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products at amazon.com. Your support is greatly appreciated - Thank You!

Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Inexpensive chuck 7-Bone steak, or other braising steaks such as bottom round, is low simmered with onion, bell pepper, green onion, and garlic, in a rich mushroom sauce.

Cajun Smothered Seven (7) Steak

Sometimes called 7 Steak Etouffee, this is another one of those popular Deep South beef dishes made from an inexpensive cut of meat, and slow simmered over several hours, resulting in a fork tender and tasty piece of beef.

The 7-Bone Steak comes from the chuck section of the steer and it includes a cross cut of the shoulder blade. The bone is shaped like a "7", which gives the steak its name, though sometimes you'll find 7-Bone with the bone cut away... and the price increased. Also called "center cut pot roast," 7-Bone Steak, like most cuts from the chuck, is best braised low and slow in a little liquid, a process that renders it fall off the fork tender.

Similar to the Poor Man Steak , a dish I have loved for years, except that this one has a bit of green onion, bell pepper, and the addition of a mushroom steak sauce that Cajuns have been endeared to for years. You can find the steak sauce in most stores, usually right by the mushrooms. It's a thick and rich, mushroom based roux, that contains mushrooms, wheat flour, tomato paste, beef extract & onion powder.

Like most good southern cooking, this dish does take some time to stew low and slow, but there's really nothing to the prep.

Cut the meat into smaller serving sizes if desired, and let it come to room temperature at least 15 minutes. Brown the meat on both sides, in a heavy bottomed pot in a bit of bacon fat or canola oil, remove and set aside. I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. You can actually brown it a bit more than I did here, but, to be honest, I've been running like a rat on a wheel here lately, so I was behind in getting this started and was in a hurry. Add the onion, bell pepper, green onion and garlic to the same pot; saute until tender.

Stir in some broth and the mushroom steak sauce.

Add the parsley and seasonings and return the meat to the pot. Simmer covered on low for about 3 hours, or until fork tender, stirring occasionally. Nothing to it!

You can serve the sauce as is, but I prefer to remove the meat, thicken it just a bit with a slurry and then plate 'em up! Serve this with Big Martha's homemade mashed potatoes, though it's just as good over hot rice. Add a side salad or a green veggie like southern green beans cooked with onion and bacon and you've got yourself a man-pleasin' meal y'all!

Cut the meat into smaller serving sizes if desired and let it come to room temperature, at least 15 minutes. In a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed deep pot, heat the oil over medium high heat and brown the meat on both sides, just until lightly browned. Remove and set aside. In the drippings (add more oil if needed), saute the onion, bell pepper and green onion and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute; add the parsley.

Stir in the beef broth, mushroom sauce, parsley, Cajun seasoning, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Add steak to the pot, turning to coat, cover and simmer (do not boil!) for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until meat is fall off the fork tender. Serve with juices as is, or use a slurry of one tablespoon of cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve. Remove meat and set aside, stir in the slurry, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Return steaks to gravy to coat or simply spoon over individual servings. Serve with homemade mashed potatoes or rice.

Substitute: If you can't find the mushroom steak sauce, substitute a can of cream of mushroom soup with a splash of Kitchen Bouquet and/or a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon beef in a pinch.

Cook's Notes: Braising steaks are best for this dish. Braising is not recommended for top round (which is often just marked as "round,"), so if you use round steak, but sure to use an eye or bottom round steak for this dish. Other good braising steaks include chuck eye, chuck arm, mock tender, chuck tender steak and flat iron. Substitute about 1/2 cup of fresh, chopped parsley for the dried parsley if you prefer.

For the Crockpot: Prep everything as above. Transfer browned steaks to the crockpot and pour the sauteed veggies and sauce mixture on top. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Remove meat and pour off sauce into a saucepan to thicken gravy with slurry, if desired.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

22 comments:

The dish looks awesome Mary. I remember the first time I went to the store to get a chuck roast and said that's not chuck roast. The one's I grew up with always looked just like yours and that's what I was looking for, but now they cut them all sort of ways.

Wow!! I haven't prepared this cut in a very long time and it reminds me of Sunday dinners growing up as a kid. You got me thinking about Mom. Don't feel sad, just a little melancholy, knowing how blessed I was way back then.

She always had rice with hers, and smothered cabbage, greens, or string beans. I'm gonna have to do this for my Grandkids.

Thanks for the info on cuts of meat Mary. I didn't realize the word "top" was left off the round label, nor that is was not meant for braising. Thinking about it, yeah I've yet to see a top round label, always bottom or eye never top!

Oh my goodness!!! YUMMY!! And, thanks for the tip about the #7...I never did know that!! Now I do!

Today was my first time to your wonderful site and I love it....I am going to go and see if you have a recipe for sweet iced tea. I love the stuff, and where I live in Central IL, no one knows how to truly make it. I tried it when I was in TN and SC, and I LOVED it!

Hey Tiffany - for homemade, I don't know for sure - some kind of roux with mushrooms. There's a picture of it above in the tutorial & you'll notice it's very thick and a deep rich brown. Other than that I can tell you that it contains mushrooms, wheat flour, tomato paste, beef extract & onion powder.

I answered on the FB page but I'll paste it in here too. I think probably about 325 for about 1-1/2 hours would probably do it, depending on the weight of the meat. Just make sure it's good and tender in case it needs more time! Check it first at about an hour. Just prep it all as in the recipe & transfer to a preheated oven. Hope that helps!

Oh Lordy! Am dying to make this, but hubby is allergic to mushrooms. Have never heard of canned mushroom sauce, so can you tell me what a good substitute would be? I'm tempted to use either beef gravy or a can of cream of chicken soup and some A1 sauce.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

From time to time, anonymous restrictions and/or comment moderation may be activated due to comment spam. I also reserve the right to edit, delete or otherwise exercise total editorial discretion over any comments left on this blog. If your comment serves only to be snarky, mean-spirited or argumentative, it will be deleted. Please mind your manners.

Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

Quantcast

Material Disclosure: This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from the provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.